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A demonstrator raises a fist in front of Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial during a protest to mark Juneteenth, which commemorates the end of slavery in Texas, two years after the 1863 Emancipation Proclamation freed slaves elsewhere in the United States, amid nationwide protests against racial inequality, in Washington, D.C., U.S., June 19, 2020. REUTERS/Erin Scott/File Photo

Dozens of Senate Republicans called on the Biden administration on Friday to withdraw what they say is a divisive education proposal that would place greater emphasis on slavery and the contributions of Black Americans in history and civics lessons taught in U.S. schools.

In the latest salvo of a burgeoning culture war over race in America, 39 Republican lawmakers led by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said the proposed Education Department policy would divert established school curricula toward a "politicized and divisive agenda" fixated on the country's flaws.

"Young Americans deserve a rigorous understanding of civics and American history. They need to understand both our successes and our failures," the Republican senators wrote in a letter to Education Secretary Miguel Cardona dated April 29. The letter was released on Friday.

"Americans do not need or want their tax dollars diverted from promoting the principles that unite our nation toward promoting radical ideologies meant to divide us."

A spokesman for the U.S. Education Department said that institutions are acknowledging America's "legacy of systemic inequities" and noted that the department welcomes comments on the proposal until May 19.

The lawmakers zeroed in on the proposal's mention of the New York Times' Pulitzer Prize-winning 1619 Project. The initiative, which traces U.S. history from the arrival of the first enslaved Africans in colonial Virginia, was a frequent target for former President Donald Trump, who sought instead to promote "patriotic" education.

Tom Cotton, the Republican senator from Arkansas, introduced legislation last June to prohibit the use of federal funds to teach a curriculum linked to the 1619 Project in schools. Since then, Republican state lawmakers in Iowa, Mississippi and several other states have introduced similar bills proposing schools lose state funding for teaching the curriculum.

"No one is pushing laws mandating the teaching of the #1619Project, but Republicans across the U.S. are pushing laws to mandate 'patriotic' education & to prohibit the teaching of the #1619Project" and about the United State's "racist past," Niklole Hannah-Jones, the journalist who created the project, said on Twitter on Friday.

The letter released on Friday came two days after Senator Tim Scott, the Senates sole Black Republican, declared that America is not a racist country in the Republican response to President Joe Bidens address to Congress. Scott also defended a new Republican voting law in Georgia that Democrats have denounced as a return to Jim Crow segregation.

The proposed policy would support teaching that "reflects the breadth and depth of our nation's diverse history and the vital role of diversity in our nation's democracy," according to a notice posted on a government regulation website.

It would encourage schools to adopt projects that incorporate "the systemic marginalization, biases, inequities and discriminatory policy and practice in American history."

The Republican Party, which remains fractured after Trump's false claim that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him, has sought to brand Biden as a divisive leader controlled by leftists.

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Republicans ask Biden to withdraw 'divisive' proposal to teach more Black history - Reuters

A Republican Party event in Texas next week will hear from eight potential candidates for the party's presidential nomination in 2024, without former President Donald Trump, a source involved in the planning said on Friday.

The May 7 event at a hotel in Austin is being co-hosted by U.S. Senator John Cornyn and Texas Governor Greg Abbott, to thank donors who helped fund a voter registration drive and get-out-the-vote efforts in the state.

High-profile Republican politicians who are considering whether to seek the party's nomination in 2024 are expected to speak to the crowd of about 200 donors.

They include former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and U.S. senators Marco Rubio, Tim Scott and Rick Scott, the source said.

The event comes as Republicans wrestle with whether to try to move past Trump in the next election cycle or fall in line behind him. Trump told Fox Business Network's Maria Bartiromo on Thursday that he was "100%" considering another run after losing in 2020 to Democrat Joe Biden.

Trump was not invited to Texas, the source said. Former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley was invited but was unable to attend, the source said.

Members of the Texas congressional delegation will interview each speaker at the event, which is being organized with the help of long-time Republican operative Karl Rove.

For example, U.S. Representative Michael McCaul, a top Republican on the House of Representatives foreign relations committee, will interview Pompeo, and Cornyn will interview Pence.

Many Republican insiders doubt Trump will follow through on his musings about running for president in 2024, leaving a void that other party leaders will seek to fill.

Pence emerged from seclusion for the first time since he and Trump left office on Jan. 20 and gave a speech in Columbia, South Carolina, on Thursday, to the Palmetto Family Council, a Christian conservative group.

He gave no indication that he was planning to run in 2024.

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Eight Republican 2024 candidates speak in Texas next week, but not Trump - Reuters

With Governor Walz likely to announce further loosening of COVID restrictions later this week, the question is: Will it be enough for Republicans? Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka has hinted, unless Walz relinquishes COVID emergency powers, there might not be agreement on the budget requiring stopgap measures to avoid state government shutdown:

If the governor decides that he wants to hang onto emergency powers to keep businesses closed and force youth to wear masks playing sports, then you can expect a lights-on-type budget.

The governor responds his emergency powers are in place to protect public health if COVID flares up, but acknowledges that Republicans

What theyre asking is, whats the off-ramp of things like business capacity limits? And those are things were talking about.

Walz said Friday the way things are going with COVID, he anticipates the State Fair should be a pretty-close-to-normal event.

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Walz expected to announce loosened COVID restrictions, but will it satisfy Republicans? - KTOE News

The TAKE with Rick Klein

For a dose of optimism, Republicans can spend some time thinking about historical trends about midterms, review new census numbers showing red-state growth or just think about President Joe Biden's promises of new taxes and new spending.

For some pessimism, they can spend time thinking about themselves -- and how their party's direction is getting challenged from within.

The excitement of House Republicans gathered at their policy retreat in Orlando, Florida, is tempered by continued disagreement about the proper role of a certain Florida resident in determining the GOP's future course.

House Minority Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy speaks during a press conference with Republican Conference Chairman Rep. Liz Cheney and Republican Whip Rep. Steve Scalise at the Capitol, Dec. 17, 2019.

Former President Donald Trump has now endorsed a candidate in a crowded Texas special election that takes place Saturday. Several candidates in that race are bragging about their allegiance to Trump, while one Republican is notably trying to make a stand for the party's anti-Trump wing.

Meanwhile, with California recall organizers having obtained the necessary signatures, the emergence of Caitlyn Jenner as a candidate to replace Gov. Gavin Newsom puts new scrutiny on the latest GOP-led culture wars across the country.

A trans woman could be the highest-profile Republican running anywhere in 2021. Jenner's own complicated relationship with Trump will be its own storyline, and her celebrity could crowd out other candidates.

Much of the Republican opposition to Biden's agenda thus far is built on the assumption that what the GOP needs most to return to power is not screw things up. There's plenty of worry inside the party that Republicans are more than capable of doing just that.

The RUNDOWN with Averi Harper

The Department of Justice has opened up an investigation into the Louisville Police Department, another law enforcement agency at the center of a case that spurred protests across the country.

To this day, none of the officers involved in the 2020 raid and shooting that killed Breonna Taylor have faced charges related to her death. On Monday, Louisville officials framed the DOJ probe as a step in the right direction.

"I think it's necessary because police reform quite honestly is needed in near every agency across the country," said Louisville Police Chief Erika Shields to reporters Monday.

Chief Erika Shields made some brief comments after being sworn-in as the new LMPD police chief, Jan. 19, 2021, in Louisville, Ky.

Change that would impact the nation's 18,000 law enforcement agencies would require federal legislation. Still, qualified immunity remains a sticking point in talks between lawmakers about the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, and Sunday on ABC's "This Week," Rep. Karen Bass couldn't promise lowering standards for prosecutions of individual officers would survive negotiations.

"People say 'There are red lines, I won't cross them,' and then, in negotiation, we find a pathway forward," said Bass. "And I'm hoping that we will be able to do that."

As cases of Black people killed by police continue to surface across the country, for many, hope and patience on the issue is wearing thin.

The TIP with Kendall Karson

The political map in the country is changing, along with the centers of power. After years of booming populations in the Sun Belt, states there are set to pull power away from the northeast and Midwest.

Texas will be electing two new House members in the 2022 cycle, the largest gain of any state. Florida and North Carolina, too, will be adding a district, while states like Michigan, Pennsylvania and Ohio are shedding one. California is losing a seat for the first time ever and New York lost a seat to Minnesota by 89 people.

Construction cranes hover over downtown and near the State Capitol, April 26, 2021, in Austin, Texas.

That shift maintains a Republican edge for the redistricting process, particularly with the GOP controlling legislatures in states like Texas, Florida, Georgia and North Carolina, all four of which are among the highest risk states for gerrymandering, according to the Brennan Center for Justice. And between those four states, it is possible for Republicans to flip the balance of power in Congress.

Meanwhile, Democrats who have been battered in recent redistricting cycles are readying for a tough fight to hold onto their single-digit majority. It is expected that they will look to states like Illinois and Maryland, which are under Democratic control, to make up the deficit.

THE PLAYLIST

ABC News' "Start Here" podcast. Tuesday morning's episode features ABC News' Prashun Mazumdar from New Delhi on the worsening COVID-19 crisis in India. Then, ABC News' Alex Mallin reports on the Justice Department's decision to investigate Louisville, Kentucky, police practices after Breonna Taylor's death. And, ABC News Senior White House Correspondent Mary Bruce explains what you need to know about the 2020 census results. http://apple.co/2HPocUL

FiveThirtyEight's Politics Podcast. On Friday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lifted their recommended pause on use of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine after a week and a half. In this installment of the FiveThirtyEight Politics podcast, the crew looks at how that pause affected public opinion of the J&J vaccine and willingness to be vaccinated more broadly. They also take stock of how Americans are thinking about climate change and government initiatives to stem carbon emissions, after President Joe Biden announced a goal of cutting U.S. emissions to half their 2005 levels by 2030. https://53eig.ht/2RWAXT4

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY

Download the ABC News app and select "The Note" as an item of interest to receive the day's sharpest political analysis.

The Note is a daily ABC News feature that highlights the key political moments of the day ahead. Please check back tomorrow for the latest.

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Republicans face identity crises from within own ranks: The Note - ABC News

Why I will never vote Republican again:

1. I believe Republicans have contributed more to gun violence in this country than anything anyone has done in our history by allowing and encouraging millions of guns to drown our society.

2. Republicans seem to sit back and ignore the daily mass shootings in this country and hope that we will accept them as part of everyday life; already 147 mass shootings in 2021.

3. Republicans brought us Donald Trump, in my opinion the most dangerous president in recent memory.

4. Republicans brought us lies as a way of life.

5. Based on Republican lies, they now bring us more voter suppression laws.

6. Who can accept a party that makes it harder to vote while making it easier to get guns? Votes dont kill people.

7. In my opinion, Republicans have endorsed racism and hate not seen since Nazi Germany used hate to justify the slaughter of millions of people.

In my lifetime, I never thought I would see such hatred solely based on a persons beliefs or because someone is a different color or practices a different religion.

Robert Grottenthaler

Erie

The writer is a former Springdale resident.

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Letter to the editor: Won't vote Republican again - TribLIVE